The New Girl
by starlily16
Summary: When a new girl comes to town, she manages to become friends with all the wrong people who are actually the right people, piss off all the right people who are all wrong, and find some love along the way. But hey, that's Neptune. (OC story placed into the fabric of the show with all the characters and story lines similar but not identical to what we know and love)
1. Pilot (Pt 1)

AN/ Hey, y'all. Here's the first part of a new story I'm working on. I only have one and a half chapters done so far, but I have notes and plans for literally every episode plus summer fillers and going all the way through to the movie. This is mostly a test to see who's out there and whether this is something people are interested in. I very much enjoy daydreaming about Neptune, and will happily write it all down if people are interested. I can't guarantee a certain time period for when updates will happen as I'm in college and just can't set aside a predetermined amount of time every week for this, as much as I'd like to. That being said, I will keep working on this as it will now be my dedicated procrastination work for when I don't want to do actual work.

Anyways, I promise that ANs will be much shorter in the future, dedicated to responding to people's reviews so leave me a question/comment/concern if you have any. Let me know what y'all think, if my characterization of those people we know and love is good or not, who you want to see with who (also, sidenote but this will more or less follow Veronica's usual conflicts and relationships only with my OC along for the ride. Still ultimately a LoVe fic but going through the whole series).

And with that, I'm done rambling. Thanks for reading! Sarah

* * *

"Excuse me?"

Deputy Sachs looked up from the desk. The annoyed response he was planning to give died in his throat as he took a long look at the young woman standing in front of him. Her auburn hair was pulled up into a ponytail, clearly showing off her warm brown eyes and full pink lips. His eyes slowly scanned down her body, noting the pink push up bra slightly showing above the thin purple tank top and the incredibly short jean shorts that left little to the imagination. Once they reached her red converse, Sachs trailed his eyes back up to meet hers. The deputy couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his face as he replied, "How can I help you?"

Kara rolled her eyes in annoyance. She was having a really crappy day and had no time for the wandering eyes of the man with the 70's pornstache standing in front of her. "I need to report a crime."

"Of course. What kind of crime," Sachs asked.

"Robbery."

"Ok, if you could follow me, we'll start on the official report." Just as Deputy Sachs was about to lead Kara off to who-knows-where, Sheriff Lamb stepped out of his office to yell for him. He froze when he saw Kara standing next to the deputy before putting on a smug smile that was supposed to be charming and walked towards the pair.

Kara audibly huffed at the second man to undress her with his eyes in this precinct. "What seems to be the problem," Sheriff asked without taking his eyes off of Kara.

Deputy Sachs replied, "This woman came in to report a robbery."

"I'll take it from here, Sachs. Why don't you go finish the paperwork you were supposed to turn in yesterday." Sheriff Lamb indicated his hand towards the door that he had stepped out of. "If you would follow me, I'll take your statement in here."

Kara followed the sheriff into his office and sat down. He shut the door before sitting in the chair behind the desk.

"Now, you wanted to report a robbery."

"Yeah, pretty much all of my stuff was stolen."

Sheriff Lamb smiled again. Kara was really starting to hate this guy. "What kind of stuff," he asked.

"I just moved here from Tucson and the moving van with my things was supposed to arrive a little after I did. It didn't show up at all. After an hour of waiting for it, I called the company who said it had gotten there earlier than it should have, was unloaded and signed for, and was already off to another job. Considering that I wasn't the one who signed for my things, it seemed pretty safe to assume that someone stole them."

"That does sound suspicious. I'll fill out a report but I'm not sure what more we can do except keep an eye out and wait to see if anything turns up. Now, what's your name?"

"Kara Nevan."

"Alright," Lamb said after he typed it in to the report. "And your phone number?"

"(520) 555 – 7928." Lamb typed it up into the computer before smirking.

"Now, can you repeat that again, just to confirm I got it right?"

Kara snorted. "Why don't you read it back to me?"

Lamb's smirk grew wider as he said, "Fair enough. Let's move on."

"Your birthday?"

"September 9, 1987."

Lamb met her eyes, "You're 17?"

Kara rolled her eyes and said, "Yup."

Sheriff Lamb ran his eyes over her body yet again before asking, "You don't look 17."

"I'm pretty sure I know how old I am." Kara was asked to give a detailed list of everything that was stolen, which took about an hour, much to her chagrin and Lamb's seeming enjoyment. Once she was done, Sheriff Lamb escorted Kara back out to the front with a flirty smirk and said, "We'll let you know if we find anything," before turning on his heel and sauntering back to his office.

Kara thought to herself, _So, what now?_ She figured she might as well head to her apartment even if there would be nothing there to put in it. As she left the building, she felt more eyes wandering over her body and blushed slightly while letting out a soft growl. She really hoped Neptune would only get better from here.

…

Kara started kicking her door in frustration as the key continued to refuse to turn in the lock. She grew embarrassed when she heard the door from the unit next to hers unlock. She looked up to see a small blonde head peer out from the doorway before stepping out. The young woman asked, "Are you alright?"

Kara shook her head as tears pricked at her eyes. "Oh yeah, totally. Sorry if I disturbed you, the key's giving me a lot of trouble and I've had a really long day and I just wanted to be home but nothing is working for me right now."

The other woman smiled. "We all have those days. I'm Veronica, Veronica Mars. My dad and I live next door. Here, let me help. The locks can be kind of tricky sometimes."

"Thanks. I'm Kara Nevan."

Veronica smiled. "Nice to meet you."

Kara smiled as Veronica opened the door. The pair walked into the room then Kara turned on the light. It looked really big and really empty without all of her furniture. Veronica asked, "Where's your stuff?"

Kara replied, "It was stolen. I have no idea where it is right now. And the police didn't seem to be any help at all. Are they always such creeps?"

"Pretty much. That totally sucks though. I'm sorry."

Kara sighed. "It's fine. I was just kind of hoping for my first day in Neptune to go a lot smoother than it has. And it feels like no matter where I am, someone is watching me."

"Yeah, well, Neptune is a pretty small place. New people tend to stand out. Especially if they look like you." Kara looked at Veronica in surprise. Veronica quickly added, "No offense."

"None taken… I think."

Veronica felt the need to explain, "It's just that you're new so you stand out anyway, but because you're wearing, I mean, you're really, uh, sorry. Forget I said anything."

Kara laughed. "No, it's fine. I get it. I was kind of planning on having all my clothes to change into but I only have about a week's worth in my suitcase in the car. I don't know what I'm going to do if they can't find my things soon. I have school tomorrow." The pair lapsed into a somewhat awkward silence as they looked around the nearly empty apartment.

Veronica said suddenly, "Hey, why don't you come over for dinner tonight? We'll give you a proper Neptune welcome. Plus, I'm sure my dad would love to meet you, and he might even be able to help. He's a private detective, really good at finding things that don't want to be found."

"Really? I wouldn't want to impose," Kara replied shyly.

"Don't worry about it, it's fine."

"Ok, great. Thanks Veronica."

The two girls left the apartment and walked down the hall to Veronica's home. Kara was accosted by the incredibly intense smell of garlic once she and Veronica entered the room. Veronica called out, "Hey pops! What's cookin'?"

The man dancing behind the counter replied, "Only my super-secret recipe lasagna."

Veronica retorted, "You double the cheese, your secret is out." Keith turned around to argue but stopped when he noticed Kara next to Veronica. "Dad, this is Kara Nevan. Kara, this is my dad Keith Mars."

Keith reached a hand out which Kara took. "Nice to meet you, Kara."

"Likewise, Mr. Mars."

Veronica said, "Kara just moved in next door."

Keith's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Oh? Well, welcome to the neighborhood. I'm glad someone's finally in there. It's been empty for years."

Kara smiled. "Yeah, I was really happy when I found it. It seemed kind of perfect since I wanted something relatively close to everything but far enough away that it could be my own quiet space when I need it. Plus, there's a pool."

Veronica rolled her eyes, "That rarely gets cleaned. I swear there's fish in there now." Kara laughed lightly, already feeling a bit better about her day. Keith plated the lasagna and they all sat around the island eating.

Veronica said, "You said something about school before. Where're you going?"

Kara replied, "Neptune High. I think that's the school for this area anyway."

"No way! That's where I go, too. I didn't realize you were still in high school."

"I've been getting that a lot today."

Keith asked, "Where're your folks?"

"In Arizona." Prompted by the confused looks on both of the Mars' faces, she explained, "I'm legally emancipated from my parents as of June and decided that a change of scenery was the best thing for everyone. We used to come here some summers to visit my cousins when I was younger, and I figured if I'm going to be on my own, I might as well be somewhere familiar."

Veronica then remembered Kara's problem. "Actually, dad. Kara needs some help." Keith turned to Kara and asked, "Oh?"

Kara shifted slightly before saying, "The moving truck never showed up. When I called the company, they said someone had signed for it already so it left by the time I got here. Obviously, since my apartment is completely empty, that someone was not me. I already talked to the police but…"

Veronica finished, "They're not exactly the helpful types." She turned to her dad. "Gave her a real 'Neptune Welcome'. So, what do you think, dad?"

"I'll look into it. Just give me the name of the company."

"Are you sure? I don't want to be any trouble," Kara said nervously.

"It's no problem at all."

"Well, I have some money if –"

Keith shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Consider it a housewarming gift."

Veronica said, "And you should really stay here for tonight. There's no reason for you to sleep on your floor when we have a perfectly good couch."

"Thanks Veronica. And Mr. Mars. This really means a lot," Kara said with a smile.

…

Kara and Veronica were getting ready for school in the bathroom together. Veronica was doing her makeup while Kara was brushing her hair. Kara said, "Hey, could I ride in to school with you today? I know I have my own car and everything but it would be nice to actually know where I'm going."

Veronica frowned slightly. "That might not be a good idea. I'm not exactly popular and you're new. You shouldn't have to deal with that."

"Come on Veronica. I really don't care about all that. Besides, why would I want to be friends with people that hate you?"

Veronica smiled, but didn't reply. Once the girls were ready, they headed out to the kitchen where they found Keith Mars had already made breakfast for both of them.

"Eat up girls. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"Thanks dad."

"Thanks Mr. Mars."

…

"Thanks for the ride Veronica," Kara said. "I'll see you at lunch, ok?"

Veronica smiled. "Alright, see you at lunch. And good luck on your first day." Then she walked away, leaving Kara alone in the parking lot. Kara stared at all of the teenagers goofing off around her. _They seem normal enough_ , Kara thought. _I wonder why Veronica is such an outcast._ She looked down to compare her outfit to the hordes of teens around her. Her bright pink skater dress matched the style of a few people she saw, but her black leather jacket and matching combat boots seemed to set her apart from everyone else. She smiled; no one wanted to be exactly like anybody else anyway.

Kara noticed her cousin walking towards the school with some friends. _Surprises are always more fun._ She decided to call her cousin as she fought through the crowd to catch up.

Duncan answered his ringing phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Duncan. How are you? It's Kara."

Duncan stopped walking in surprise. "Kara? I haven't seen you in so long. How've you been?"

"Alright for most the part. It's been a bitch of a year."

Duncan snorted. "You're telling me. Why're you just checking in now?"

Kara smiled as she finally caught up. "I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise? What is it?"

Kara hung up her phone and said, "Turn around."

Duncan turned in surprise, before immediately wrapping his arms around the girl in front of him. "Kara! I can't believe you're here! Why are you in Neptune?"

Kara sheepishly shrugged as she said, "I, uh, live here now."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I'm finally emancipated from my parents, and figured Neptune was as good a place as any. Plus, with you and Uncle Jake, I thought it'd be nice to be near family that actually cares about me, you know?"

Duncan's smile disappeared for a moment before attempting to cheer up his cousin. "My parents would love to see you… Well, my dad at least. You should come by after school."

Kara nodded. "Alright. I've missed him."

The pair turned around when they heard a throat clear behind them. Duncan said, "Oh, sorry Logan. Kara, this is my best friend Logan Echolls. Logan, this is my cousin Kara Nevan."

Kara smiled. "Nice to meet you, Logan."

Logan replied, "Likewise."

"So, are you guys going to show me around school or are you planning on having a good laugh at my lost puppy look," Kara asked.

Logan smirked, "I wouldn't mind the lost puppy look on you." Kara blushed but said nothing. Duncan looked on for a moment. "I think I have time for a quick tour." The trio wandered around toward the back of the school, through the cafeteria area.

Logan pointed out a table, "And this is where the cool people sit."

Kara smirked, "Oh? And where do you sit?"

"Ha. Ha. Ha," Logan responded sarcastically.

"You seem to be fitting in already," Duncan said. The bell rang before the conversation could continue. "Seems we took a bit too long on the tour. I have to get to class. Think you'll be able to find your way to the office?"

Kara shrugged, "I think I can figure it out. See you later, Duncan. And nice to meet you, Logan. I assume I'll see you around."

"I'm looking forward to it." Kara watched as they both walked away. _Deep breath, Kara. Everything will be fine._ She squared her shoulders and followed the crowd.

…

Following the crowd proved to be a mistake as the chaos that was the hallway soon threatened to overwhelm Kara. She had no idea where to find the office and no idea who to ask. Suddenly, Kara was knocked over by someone running towards whatever class they were late for. Her bag fell and its contents spilled all over the floor.

"Awesome. Just awesome," she mumbled to herself, hoping that no one else would run her over as she knelt down. A hand entered her field of vision, picking up her calculator. She looked up to see a young black man with slightly puffy hair holding her calculator out to her.

"Are you ok," he asked as he helped her pick up the rest of her school supplies. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's actually kind of comforting."

He looked up at her in surprise. "Getting run over in the hallway is comforting?"

Kara shrugged. "It matches the rest of the interactions I've had with Neptune so at least I know what to expect now."

He laughed and said, "Ok then." He helped her stand up.

She asked, "Do you know where the main office is?"

"Yeah, I'm actually heading there now. I'll show you."

"Oh, thanks."

"I'm Wallace Fennel."

Kara grabbed Wallace's hand and shook it, "Kara Nevan. Nice to meet you, Wallace."

"So, you're new here?"

"Yup. First day."

Wallace nodded. "Great. Me too."

Kara asked, "You're new, too?"

Wallace stopped walking. "Did you not see me before?"

"Where would I have seen you?"

"You didn't go through the front doors?"

Kara shook her head. "I came in through the back. By the lunch tables."

Wallace let out a relieved sigh and smiled. He continued walking. Kara asked, "Why?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

He led her through the hallway before opening a set of double doors. "Here we are."

Kara said, "Thanks, Wallace."

"Us new kids gotta stick together, right?"

Kara agreed. "We sure do."

…

Kara was already exhausted and it was just barely noon. She never wanted to give another interesting fact about herself as long as she lived. She trudged her way over to the lunch tables, walking slowly through the hallways. Suddenly, she felt an arm drape itself around her shoulders. She looked up to see a floppy-haired, blonde white boy with a dopey smirk staring down at her.

"What's up new girl," the boy asked.

As annoyed as this guy already made her, Kara didn't have the energy to completely ignore him. "And you are," she asked him flatly.

"Dick Casablancas."

Kara snorted. "Your name is Dick? Seriously?"

"Yup. And yours is," Dick asked. Kara could tell that he was trying to flirt, emphasis on trying. He was more successful, however, at angling his head to try to steal a glimpse down the front of her dress. Kara just barely held back her shiver of disgust as she replied, "Kara."

"Kara…"

"Nevan."

Dick stepped back from her to meet her eyes. "No way! _You're_ Duncan's cousin? He didn't tell me you were hot."

Kara rolled her eyes. "Thanks."

Not picking up on her sarcasm, Dick replied with a shrug. "No problem."

The pair had exited the building into the lunch area. Kara took this small lull in the conversation to look around at the spread of tables and figure out where she wanted to sit. She could see Duncan and Logan sitting at the loudest table, filled to the brim with mega blonde cheerleaders and whiter than white rich boys. She looked around and saw the typical groupings: goths, nerds, band geeks, every cliché clique in the book. Until she saw Veronica, alone. It wasn't even a decision for Kara when she started her way over there.

Dick called out, "Where are you going, Kara? The best thing you can do on your first day is sit with us."

Kara called back, "Goodbye, Dick."

Dick, and the rest of the table that heard them call out to each other, watched Kara as she walked over and sat down next to Veronica.

Without looking up from her tray, Veronica asked, "Are you sure you want to sit here?" Kara looked back at the other table. She saw Duncan, who gave her a small smile and nod. Kara smiled back. "Yeah, I'm sure."


	2. Pilot (Pt 2)

A/N Thank you so much to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed. It means so much to me that you all are enjoying this story so far. Few things on the chapter before we get back to it: 1. I use ellipses to represent scene breaks so sometimes sections are shorter than others but they fall wherever they make the most sense in the TV show in my head, 2. The italics are Kara's thoughts and memories to set them apart from the rest of the story, 3. I apologize to anyone who actually speaks Spanish for what're likely really bad translations. I tried my best to do it myself with what I know but at least one of them is just awkward google translate. I also followed the Spanish up with the translations in parentheses so everyone would know what was said. If that ends up being too clunky let me know, and I can put future translations as footnotes after the chapters.

chesire15 - Thanks for being my first reviewer! It means a lot to me. I love Logan too, but I think we can all agree he was not a great guy at the beginning of the show. I have big plans for him though so hopefully you can bear with me until then.

Guest - Thanks for reviewing!

kittybug85 - Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like it.

Ashes2Dust18 - Thanks for the review! I can at the very least guarantee a chapter a month, but I hesitate to try to promise more than that as I'm in school and should probably focus on that first (but we'll see).

Please review or message me your questions, comments, thoughts, ideas etc. I have a lot of things planned out, but if there's anything in particular you'd like to see, I can probably try to make it happen.

Thanks again everybody! Sarah

* * *

Veronica was staring off into space so Kara took out _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_ and ate quietly (after anxiously awaiting the sixth book that summer, she decided to go back and reread the series to cover the long wait until the last book). She understood that people just needed to be lost in their thoughts sometimes. The two sat together in silence until Kara heard someone ask, "You ok?"

Kara smiled when she saw it was the other new kid. "Hello fellow newbie." Wallace smiled at her, then looked back at Veronica expectantly. Veronica looked at him confused to be pulled out of her thoughts for a moment before responding, "What?"

Kara laughed to herself while Wallace responded, "You look, I dunno, hypnotized or…"

Veronica interrupted, "Did we say you could sit here?" Kara smiled at Veronica's "we" but she didn't want Wallace to leave. As he started to pack up his lunch and stand, Kara gave Veronica a look that clearly told her to apologize.

She sighed. "Wait a minute. Of course, you can sit here. Sit wherever you want."

Wallace said, "That was cool what you did, cutting me off of that pole." Before Veronica could respond, however, someone walked over to the table and proclaimed, "My bitch." Kara looked up from her book to see a student covered in tattoos being closely followed by a gaggle of other boys. She, at first, thought he was talking to Veronica, but he sat next to Wallace and leaned in close. "Weren't you supposed to wait for me at the flag pole? Not sure I could've made that any clearer." Kara could see Wallace was incredibly uncomfortable, but he tried to laugh it off.

"Ok, I get it now. Very funny. I guess we're even now."

"You get what boy? That you're a dead man walking is that what you get?"

Veronica jumped in. "Leave him alone."

"Sister. The only time I care what a woman has to say is when she's riding my big ole hog, even that's not so much words as it's a bunch of oohs and aahs, you know." Kara put her book back in her bag and realized that she left one of her notebooks in Veronica's car that she needed for her next class. She looked back up and sighed. _Guess I'll just wait until they're done_ , she thought as she rested her chin on her hand and watched the show.

"So it's big, huh?" Veronica goaded him on.

"Legendary," he replied smugly.

"Well let's see it. I mean if it's as big as you say, I'll be your girlfriend. Oh! We could go to prom together." The biker boy wannabe turned to his boys laughing. "What? What seems to be the problem? I'm on a schedule here vato."

Kara turned as spiky haired wannabe said, "Dude, Weevil. Don't let blondie here talk to you like that?" Veronica turned to look at Kara and rolled her eyes before turning back to the group.

"Sounds like your buddy here wants to see it, too."

"Ah, hell I'll show you mine."

"Ok," Kara said as she stood up from her seat. "I've had enough dicks for one day, so please don't." The gang of dudes all looked at Kara like they just realized she was there. The leader got a big smirk on his face as he stepped around Veronica to ask, "And who are you?"

"I'm Kara. And you're Weevil?" Weevil turned smugly back to his group before saying, "I see my reputation proceeds me."

Kara rolled her eyes as he stepped closer. "Um, no. Your friend literally just said your name not twenty seconds ago."

Weevil's smirk dropped for a second before it returned. He stepped even closer to her, trapping her between the seat and the table. "What do you say new girl? You want to ride my hog later?"

"First, it's Kara, not new girl. Second, no. I don't think I'll be hanging out with the guy that tied my friend to a flagpole."

"Feeling left out?" Weevil asked her. At this point, he was so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek. "I wouldn't mind watching you squirm if that's what you're into."

Weevil saw Kara blush slightly and look away. She looked uncomfortable and a bit worried, which Weevil enjoyed.

Kara managed to surprise him though when she leaned in to him, pulling his head so she could whisper into his ear, "Solamente si hago atar y te retuerces." (Only if I tie and you squirm). He just stared at her and stepped back slightly. She smiled triumphantly and turned to Veronica.

"Hey, I left my notebook in your car. You mind if I take your keys to grab it?" Veronica, who had been watching intently on the sidelines in case she had to step in to help, grabbed her keys and tossed them to Kara. "Thanks." She turned back to Weevil who still hadn't managed to say anything. "Hasta nunca." (See you never).

As Kara walked away from the table, she heard Mr. Clemmons, the assistant principal, break up the love fest she had just left behind. She sighed as she made her way to Veronica's car. Just as she stepped around to unlock the passenger door, Kara heard someone shout her name. She looked up to see Duncan striding towards her looking concerned.

"Hey, are you ok," Duncan asked, clearly worried about her. Kara shrugged and said, "Sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just, I saw Weevil by your table and then you left so I just wanted to make sure he didn't bother you, or you know, do something he shouldn't've." Duncan trailed off when he saw Kara smile at his explanation.

"That's so sweet!" Kara exclaimed as she reached over to hug him. "Unnecessary, but sweet." Duncan leaned back and smiled a little back. "So, you're really ok?"

"Yeah," Kara replied. "I just forgot a notebook in Veronica's car that I need for my next class."

"And school has been good so far?"

Kara's smile only dimmed slightly as she thought about her day up to lunch. "It hasn't been too bad. More average than anything else which I guess is better than the worst case scenarios in my head. It's always hard being the novelty new girl but I'm dealing."

"Well that's good." Duncan replied as Kara finally unlocked the door to grab her notebook. "Hey, you should come over after school today. It'd be a nice surprise for my dad."

"Sure," Kara said. "I'd love to see him."

"Great! Meet me by the flagpole after school and we can drive over together." The bell rang, marking the end of the period and their conversation.

"Sounds like a plan. See you then!" Kara called out as Duncan started to hurry away. She sighed before squaring her shoulders and heading back into the fray. _Only three more hours. You can do this_.

It helped that her next class was World History. Kara had always loved history. As Kara entered the classroom, she spotted Veronica sitting in the back of the room. She quickly walked over to the seat next to her and sat down. Veronica seemed to be in a decidedly better mood than she was during lunch. At Kara's quizzical expression, Veronica responded to the unasked question. "This class is great. You'll see."

Kara watched as the youngest teacher she's had so far walked in to the room. "Hello class. As some of you know, my name is Mr. Rooks." Kara already liked his energy. "And this, drum roll please…" To Kara's surprise, the kid's around her actually responded to his request. "… is WORLD HISTORY!" Mr. Rooks exclaimed before making fake cheering noises and pumping his fist in the air.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's begin." Kara loved the lecture that followed. She could tell even for the less academically inclined kids, Mr. Rooks was able to keep them engaged and alert without being too slow for the others. She hardly took any notes the whole class, choosing instead to just enjoy the pace of the introduction to World History. As they reached the end of class, Kara could hardly contain her smile.

Mr. Rooks called out, "Kara Nevan? Could you stay a moment?" Kara glanced quickly over at Veronica, who shrugged before heading to her next class. Kara made her way to the front of the classroom and waited as Mr. Rooks said goodbye to the last remaining students before turning to her.

"First of all, I wanted to say hi and welcome," Mr. Rooks said with a kind smile. "I know introductions in front of the whole class can be tedious at best, nerve wracking at worst, so I hope you didn't mind me skipping it."

Kara smiled, "I've already had to introduce myself five times today. It was nice to have a break."

"Good. Second, I couldn't help but notice that you didn't take any notes. I'm not boring you already, am I?"

Kara was almost ready to deny that claim vehemently when she saw the smirk on Mr. Rooks' face. "Oh, it had nothing to do with you. It's just, I took world history last year, but my other requirements for this year meant this was the only history class I could take. History's my favorite subject so I figured a redo of things I already knew was better than no history class at all."

Mr. Rooks pretended to heave a great sigh of relief, making Kara laugh a little. "Well I'm glad to hear that. I'm sorry you were forced to take this class again though."

"It's alright. Like I said, same history is better than no history."

"How about this? I don't want you to be bored the whole semester so why don't I give you alternate assignments? Different books and essays that look at the same time periods we'd be talking about in class, but more in depth and interesting for you."

"Oh, you shouldn't have to do more work on my account," Kara shook her head in response. "It's no trouble at all. I'd love to foster the mind of another history lover." Mr. Rooks smiled. The bell rang and he looked at the clock quickly before looking back at Kara. "Oh, I didn't mean to keep you this long. You should hurry to your next class."

Kara replied, "Oh, I have a free period next. I was just going to head to the library to start my homework anyway."

"In that case, maybe we could use one or two of your free periods a week to talk about the books you're reading."

Kara smiled and said, "Sure. That'd be great."

"Good. Well, I won't keep you any longer then. Have a great rest of your day, Kara."

"Thanks, Mr. Rooks. You too."

The rest of the school day was completely uneventful. Kara stood by the flagpole waiting for Duncan when she realized she never told Veronica her after school plans. She quickly took out her phone and called her.

"Hello?"

"Hey Veronica, sorry. I forgot to tell you I'm going over to my cousin's after school today. You don't have to worry about driving me home."

"Thanks for letting me know," Veronica replied. "Have fun."

Kara smiled as she saw Duncan approach. "Will do. See you later."

"Alright, you ready to go," Duncan asked.

"Yup. Let's go."

The drive to Duncan's house was easy enough. Kara tried to pay attention to the route as best she could since she'd likely be visiting much more often now that she lived in Neptune. Duncan was optimistic that his dad was home, and that his mom would forgive the intrusion more easily since Kara was family. That optimism was quickly thrown out as soon as the pair entered the large house.

"Duncan, honey, I'm heading out for a little while and…" Celeste Kane halted as soon as she saw the person standing next to her darling son. "Kara. I, um, didn't realize you were visiting."

Kara forced a smile as she replied, "Oh no, Celeste. I'm not visiting. I just moved here."

"Oh." Celeste seemingly had nothing more to say about that. _Surprise surprise_ , Kara thought. "Well, um. Duncan, I have an appointment so I'll be gone for a little while, but your father should be home soon."

"Sounds good, mom," Duncan replied. Celeste came over and kissed his forehead, gave Kara a tight smile, and then left.

Kara sighed as Duncan watched his mom leave then turned to back to her. "Well, could've been worse."

Duncan had no response to that, and Kara didn't expect him to. The relationship she had with Celeste was strained to say the least.

…

 _Kara had managed to escape the crowd and slipped into the living room for a moment of peace. She fell into the couch and stared at the hem of her plain black dress. She never liked this dress, but it was all she had. She didn't notice anyone coming into the room until the quiet was broken._

 _"_ _How dare you?"_

 _Kara looked up from the couch in surprise at the venom she heard from the voice in front of her. "What?"_

 _"_ _How dare you show up here? Like you belong here," Celeste continued. Kara shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around what was happening._

 _"_ _What… what're you talking about," Kara asked, failing to keep her voice from shaking._

 _"_ _You aren't welcome in my house. From the speed at which you and that woman replaced -" Celeste's voice broke. "You clearly don't care about this family. Just leave."_

 _Kara's voice was barely a whisper as she finally stood, tears running down her face. "How could you say that?"_

 _Before Celeste could reply, Lilly appeared in the doorway. Quickly assessing the situation, noting with particular distaste the tears streaming down her cousin's face, she turned to send a deadly glare towards her mother._

 _"_ _I can't believe you," Lilly said, managing to make her voice almost as venomous as her mom's. Almost. She hurried over to Kara and wrapped her arms around her, letting her cousin cry into her shoulder._

 _"_ _Oh, Lilly grow up. You saw them out there with that, that man. I don't even know why they came."_

 _"_ _It's her dad's wake, Celeste." Lilly took particular care to address her mother by her first name since she knew how much she hated it. "You of all people should know why she's here." Celeste still didn't let up the glare. Lilly continued, "Besides, she can't control her mother any more than I can control you."_

 _Celeste took one more dispassionate look at the now sobbing girl in her daughter's arms. Without another word, she slammed the door behind her, shattering the tense silence and her relationships with the two girls she left behind._

 _…_

"You want a snack or drink or something," Duncan asked to break Kara out of her thoughts.

"Sure," Kara replied. "Coke?"

Duncan smiled. "Coming right up. Go ahead to the living room. We can catch up there until my dad gets home." Duncan went to the kitchen while Kara walked down the familiar hallway to the living room and fell back onto the couch with a heavy sigh.

She looked up when Duncan handed her a can from over her shoulder before sitting down next to her.

"So," Duncan started.

"So…" Kara repeated.

"How're you dealing with everything, Kara?" Duncan stopped her before she started. "And please don't say you're fine because I know you. It's just us so honesty would be nice."

Kara smiled slightly. "I think I really am fine, or almost anyway. I'm definitely doing better than I was before. I think Neptune is going to be good for me."

"Well anywhere has to be better than home right," Duncan joked. Kara chuckled humorlessly before nodding. "Yeah, true. But that's not home anymore. This is."

Duncan nodded in agreement. The pair turned when they heard the door open.

"Duncan?" Jake called out. "In here."

Jake Kane turned into the living room and immediately brightened when he saw Kara sitting next to his son.

"Kara!" She stood up and hurried over to Jake so he could wrap her up in a tight hug. "What're you doing here, kid?"

Kara smiled up at her favorite (technically only, but who's counting?) uncle. "I just moved here last week."

Jake smiled sadly down at his niece. "That's great, sweetie. Welcome to Neptune."

"Thanks, Jake."

"Are you staying for dinner," Duncan asked Kara, clearly assuming she'd say yes.

"Oh, I, uh. Don't want to put you out or anything," Kara said.

"Nonsense," Jake replied. "Of course, you can stay. I'm just going to finish up a few things in the study. Call me when your mom gets home. We can go out."

Once Jake left, Kara turned back to Duncan annoyed. "You did that on purpose."

Duncan replied smugly, "Yes. Yes I did."

Kara and Duncan spent the next half hour or so talking. They both had a lot to talk about, having not seen each other for a year. And what a year it was.

…

The family reunion dinner was just as awkward as Kara expected. Jake and Duncan would try to engage her in conversation, which would work for a while, until Celeste would pop in with a rude leading question, ranging from personal to straight up nasty. Then it would be followed by a few tense moments of awkward silence before the conversation would tentatively start again.

Duncan decided to drive Kara home from the restaurant, actively trying to avoid her glare. "Look, I'm sorry," he said. "I forgot about, you know, all that with my mom." He looked over at her then and cringed at the look on her face. No longer mad, Kara just looked exhausted.

"Hey." Kara looked up at him then. "It's, uh, just you and me now, you know? It can never go back to the way it used to be, but it can still be the two of us facing the world together ok?" Kara met his eyes once he parked the car and nodded.

"Yeah. You and me." Kara got out of the car and sent a small smile and wave towards Duncan before she climbed her way up the stairs.

She couldn't wait to go to bed after the never ending day she just had. That is, until she opened her door and was immediately struck by the completely empty apartment.

"Shit." Somehow Kara had managed to forget that she still had practically nothing until the sheriff found her stuff (not likely from what she could tell) or Keith did.

She stepped out of her apartment and locked the door (not that it mattered) before she went next door.

After a minute of waiting, Kara knocked again and called out "Veronica? It's Kara. Are you there?"

Another minute of silence and Kara decided to call her. She almost thought it would go to voicemail before she finally picked up.

"Hello?"

"Veronica hey. It's Kara." She heard the sounds of cars on the road and quickly figured out she wouldn't be getting her stuff tonight. "From the sounds of it, I'm guessing you're not home."

"Crap," Veronica exclaimed quickly, making Kara laugh. "I'm so sorry Kara. I forgot your stuff was in the apartment. I'm going to be out for a while, and my dad's gone for the night."

"Are you driving right now?"

"No, I'm, uh, running some errands."

Kara asked, "Could I meet you somewhere and get the keys from you?" Kara could practically hear Veronica thinking before she got the reply. "Sure, I'll text you the address."

"Thanks, Veronica."

…

Kara wasn't sure she had any expectations for what Veronica was doing, but hanging out in front of a sleazy motel was definitely not anywhere on the list. She parked behind Veronica's car and got out.

"Um, Veronica," she said once she got to her window. "What're you doing here?" She could see the camera on Veronica's lap and the case notes next to her.

Veronica replied, "Helping my dad with a case. He's tracking down a bail jumper tonight, so I figured I'd get started on this."

"Do you help your dad with a lot of cases?" Veronica smiled. "Yeah, when I can."

Kara smiled. "That's pretty cool."

"Thanks."

Just then, they heard the rumble of a herd of motorcycles heading their direction. Veronica looked into the rearview mirror before handing Kara the house key. "You should go. Now." Kara nodded and quickly headed back to her car. Sadly, she was too late.

Both of their cars were surrounded by bikers. One of them looked at her pointedly before smirking and getting off his bike to stand between her and her car. Kara sighed and turned towards Veronica and her new best friend, Weevil. She could not hold back the snort when she watched one idiot get jumped by Backup while another got tased.

Sadly, that garnered the attention of literally every biker. Kara almost gagged at the expressions on everyone's faces. She turned towards Weevil who seemed to be the only one to not look at her like a dog with a bone. She walked to stand next to Veronica's window, deciding that standing near the person with the taser was probably the smart thing to do.

"Kara," Weevil said. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

Kara rolled her eyes. "Clearly the pleasures all yours."

The jackass on the ground stood up and cornered her against the car door before saying, "Oh you want pleasure baby? I can do that." His hand had just started to inch towards her breast when she punched him in the face and said, "No me tocques, cabrón." (Don't touch me, bastard). Her punch had sent him back to the ground, where he faced the taser once again when he started to think about getting up.

"All right, all right. Felix, we get it, you're a badass, okay? But for once don't be stupid," Weevil scolded Felix, waiting until he was back at his bike before continuing the conversation Kara had missed earlier.

"All right, one week. After that, we come for you, your boy, and your little dog too," Weevil warned before turning to Kara.

"You get lonely out here remember, Weevil'll love you a long time."

Kara scoffed. "No lo creo, pendejo." (I don't think so, asshole). She had no idea why, but she thought she saw an actual smile on Weevil's face before he led his gang away.

It was another minute or so before either one of them spoke.

"So," Kara said. "That was fun."

Veronica sighed. "Sorry. In case you haven't noticed, I'm really not the best person to hang out with. It's only been one day, you can still change your mind and no one would care that you talked to me for a day."

Kara smiled before leaning down to look Veronica in the eye. "I'll see you later, Veronica."


	3. Pilot (pt 3)

A/N Hi everybody! I'm so sorry for how long it took me to update. Last year ended up being the hardest few months I've ever had to deal with. Not to get too personal, but my life went to shit so writing had to take the back burner for a while. I promise to make it up to y'all with more frequent updates for the next few weeks at least. The updates might be a little shorter than the first two installments but there will be more of them.

Thank you to everyone who followed and favorited since my last update. I truly appreciate you taking the time to read this story. Extra special thank yous to cheshire15, kittybug85, and sthestrange for the reviews. And to Kayte76, I agree. I will always prefer Backup, but I needed a way to wiggle Kara into the main action somehow. :)

Anyways, enough about me. Read, enjoy, follow, favorite, review and all that good stuff.  
xoxo Sarah

* * *

Kara and Veronica drove to school separately the next day. Kara had to go in early to get her car registered in the office, and Veronica wanted to sleep in given how late she had been up the night before. Getting to the school before most of the other students had gotten there made the building feel peaceful and quiet, a state that Kara assumed the school rarely saw of itself.

Registering her car was easy enough, so Kara went to her locker to get her things for the day together before she got a text from Veronica.

 **Hey just got here. Meet me in courtyard.** Kara smiled. She hadn't seen Veronica since she left her in front of the motel last night. Kara was glad that Veronica seemed to be getting used to the fact that Kara was actually her friend and did like talking to her in front of other people too, not just in the isolated comfort of the apartment. As Kara walked around the side of the building, she saw Veronica walking alongside an ugly, bright yellow jeep. They seemed to be talking so Kara didn't want to interrupt, but she couldn't help being curious so she tried to get close enough to listen.

"Does it make you horny," the driver said. "Hey DK, flex for your ex." Kara heard Duncan call out from somewhere in the car, telling Logan to shut up. But Logan was far from over.

"Hey, hey. What do you say to a little hootch, huh? What's the matter, aren't you your mother's daughter? Hmm? Now there was a woman who could drink. Hey, what's she up to nowadays, maybe she'll join us. Do you know where she is? Any clue?" Kara could not believe what she was hearing. She had no idea anyone could be this vile towards someone else, regardless of what could have happened in the past.

Kara stepped up next to Veronica and grabbed her arm. "Veronica, there you are. You ok?" Veronica met her eyes, but didn't say anything.

Logan smirked and said, "Kara, how about you? Want to have some fun in the sun?" Kara rolled her eyes. "Pass." Logan shrugged.

"Alright, wouldn't mind initiating you into our group, but if you want to hang out with the… less desirable, it's your choice."

Kara looked past Logan to Duncan, motioning for him to step in and say something. Duncan complied. "Leave them alone, man."

Logan finally gave in. "Oh, chill pill, man. Alright. Ah, she used to be fun man." And then he drove away.

Kara turned to Veronica and grabbed her shoulders. "Seriously, V. Are you ok?" Veronica seemed to shake herself out of whatever trance she was in.

"Hmm, oh yeah. I've learned to tune Logan out a while ago." She looked past Kara and said, "Sorry about that. Talking to me might drag you into things you don't need."

Kara shrugged. "Whatever. I can handle myself." Veronica smiled, but didn't respond. "Changing the subject then," Kara said. "What did you want to talk about?"

Veronica sighed. "Well speaking of how sorry I am, I wanted to apologize again for last night."

"Seriously, it's alright. You're nice enough to let me stay over so I don't mind having to drive around a bit if you need me to."

"I kinda meant getting you surrounded by bikers not once but twice on your first day here, but that's nice to know." Kara laughed lightly and Veronica eventually joined in. The bell rang and both girls sighed.

"Welp," Kara said. "Time to start the day."

…

And what a day it was. Only her second day there and it already seemed like some people hated Kara. She couldn't tell whether it was because they knew she talked to Veronica or if it was because they actually didn't like her. Either way, whispers followed her in the hallway the whole morning.

Lunch was quickly proving to be her favorite part of the day. She walked out with her tray and made her way to Wallace, who was sitting at the same table they sat at yesterday.

"Hey Wallace," Kara said as she sat down next to him. "So, have we officially planted our flag yet or are we still fighting off those pesky natives?"

Wallace smiled. "I think it's safe to officially declare this table ours. Long live the new kids!"

"Huzzah!" Kara responded, causing both of them to dissolve into giggles. Veronica sat down at their table soon after that, not acknowledging either of them. Kara tried not to take offense; even knowing Veronica for only a few days she could tell that quiet lunches would be happening a lot. There always seemed to be something on her new friend's mind.

Wallace said, "Girl, you should hear what people say about you." Kara looked at him questioningly and he nodded towards Veronica, who of course immediately got defensive.

"So, then what are you doing sitting here," she shot back.

"You sat next to us," Wallace replied waving his hand between Kara and himself.

"This is my table," Veronica responded.

"And what a fine table it is," Wallace looked over at Kara. "What do you suppose this is made of? Oak."

Kara laughed and said, "Could be walnut."

Veronica sighed. "Look, if people are saying such awful things…"

"Well, I figure I've got a choice. I can either go hang out with the punks who laughed at me, and took pictures of me while I was taped to that flagpole, or I can hang out with the chick who cut me down," Wallace explained.

Kara continued with, "Plus new kid solidarity means that I must sit with Wallace until social roles are established but seeing as you were the first person I met in Neptune who treated me like a person and not an alien, I don't think I'm going anywhere either."

Veronica smiled in response. Then she leaned in conspiratorially and said, "So you want to get the PCH Bike Club off your ass?" She then turned her notebook around to show Kara and Wallace a sketch of something. Kara and Wallace looked at each other, confused before looking up at Veronica.

"What exactly are we looking at here," Kara asked, not quite sure what the sketch was supposed to be.

"A classic two birds, one stone scenario," Veronica replied cryptically. "C'mon. We should get to the art room before lunch is over." She quickly stood up and started walking away.

Kara and Wallace started to pack up their lunch more slowly. "I guess we're done eating," Wallace said. Kara shrugged, "Guess so. Let's go before we lose her completely."

The pair found Veronica in the art room talking to some guy with curly brown hair and a dopey grin. Veronica waved them over.

"Corny," Veronica said. "This is Wallace and Kara. Guys, this is Corny." Corny looked up at both and smiled. "What can I do for you guys?" Without saying a word, Veronica opens her notebook to the same sketch she had showed Kara and Wallace at lunch.

"This is so twisted. I love it," Corny smiled.

"Well, can you do it cause we need it fast," Veronica asked.

"Oh hell yeah, for you, oh anything. I'll even throw in the glazing gratis." Kara smiled. Corny seemed like fun.

"Go to town," Veronica said. "Thanks, Corny." Then the school bell rang, causing all three of them to run to their next classes.

…

After school, Kara was all too happy to get out of there. Other than having another nice talk with Mr. Rooks where he gave her the first alternative book to read about nomadic tribes during the Ice Age, the rest of the day was just as tedious and annoying as it was before lunch. Kara met up with Veronica and they walked back to the parking lot together.

"Hey, I'm going to go the beach for a little while and then I have a job interview so don't worry about me for dinner, ok," Kara said.

"Sure. What's the job interview for," Veronica asked.

"That diner a few miles up the PCH. I figured it'd be a good place for flexible shifts before and after school, maybe a few weekends," Kara explained.

"I know that place. Me and my dad go there for breakfast sometimes. That'll be fun."

"I hope so."

"Well, I may be out later so text me when you think you'll be heading back," Veronica said.

"Ok, I don't mind meeting you somewhere to hang out for a little while too if you're working again," Kara responded.

Veronica seemed hesitant. "If you're sure…" Kara smiled and nodded. "Well, ok then. I'll let you know later what's going on."

"Sounds good. Talk to you later Veronica!" Kara left Veronica at her car and headed over to her car parked on the other side of the lot.

The drive to the beach was quick, perks of living in a beach town. Even though she had lived in the desert most of her life, the ocean had always had a calming effect on Kara. She used to have a favorite spot on the beach that no one else would go to where she could sit and get away from the rest of her family when they would visit in the summer. No one else had ever seemed to find it, and Kara wanted to make sure it was still there. She parked, got out, and started walking down the beach away from everyone else.

Kara eventually came upon a small tree overlooking a rock pile on the edge of the water. She could not help the smile that quickly grew on her face. It looked exactly as she remembered it. This stretch of beach was far enough from the parking lot that most people wouldn't want to walk all the over anyway, and since there were so many rocks on the sand, it wasn't an ideal place for swimming or surfing either.

She sat down, leaning up against the tree, and stared out at the water. Kara never entirely figured it out, but this spot always seemed to calm her down. No matter what was happening in her life, or what rude comment was said, she could come here and just be alone with her thoughts. With everything that had gone so wrong in the last couple of years, having this spot again was a small comfort. Maybe Neptune wouldn't be so bad after all.

Kara sat quietly staring out at the ocean in her spot until the alarm on her phone went off. She reluctantly stood up, brushing the sand off her jeans before she went back to her car to head to her interview.

…

"Well, Ms. Nevan. It was a pleasure to meet you. Your first shift will be Saturday morning if that's alright with you. Once you finalize your semester schedule we can figure out weekday shifts," Carmen Contreras, the manager of the diner, said. Kara smiled brightly. "Thank you so much Ms. Contreras. And please, call me Kara."

Carmen smiled back. "Then you can call me Carmen. Uniform is just clean jeans, no rips or sequins or whatnot, and a white t-shirt."

"Easy enough," Kara replied as the pair walked back out to the main room. "Thanks again."

Carmen looked up at the big Elvis clock on the wall and said, "Well, look at the time. Why don't you get some dinner here? My treat to celebrate your new job."

"Oh, I couldn't possibly…" Kara tried to refuse the offer when Carmen interrupted, "Nonsense. Besides, it'll help if the new waitress actually likes the food."

Kara smiled again. She knew she was really going to like working here. She sat down at the counter and quickly ordered a BLT, fries, and a coke before staring off into space, thinking about everything and nothing.

"Well, you look like you're thinking too hard." Kara shook her head and turned to see who had interrupted her thoughts. She rolled her eyes and turned back around once she saw the person who took the stool next to her was none other than Sheriff Lamb.

"Just thinking about how I'm running out of clean clothes and have a perpetual knot in my back from sleeping on the couch for three days now," Kara replied sarcastically. "Any word on my stolen moving van?"

Sheriff Lamb smirked and said, "Well, I have a mighty comfortable bed you can use. You wouldn't have to worry about those clean clothes then either."

Kara gagged. "God, you're disgusting. How did you become Sheriff anyway? You're clearly not qualified."

"I think it had something to do with my charming smile and dashing good looks."

"Everyone in this town must be blind then," Kara nearly snarled at her seat neighbor, now focusing on the food in front of her.

"Maybe it's just you." Kara rolled her eyes once again. That seemed to happen a lot when she spent more than 30 seconds with the smarmy Sheriff of Neptune.

"Back to my question, have you been at least attempting to do your job and find my stuff?"

Lamb quickly ordered his food then turned back to her. "We checked in with the truck company, but the two employees that drove your stuff were new hires who used false names. We're trying to find a picture or something to use, but it seems like a dead end."

Kara finished off her food and stood, gathering her stuff to leave. "Great. I guess I'll just live out of my duffle bag until we get some competent law enforcement." She turned to Carmen who had come up to clear her plate. "Bye Carmen. Thanks for dinner. See you Saturday at 6a sharp."

"See you then, kiddo." Kara turned to leave when she heard, "You working here now?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes. I just got hired."

Sheriff Lamb took a bite of his burger then said, "See you around then." Kara grimaced at the lovely site before finally leaving his presence.

 _Just what I need_ , Kara thought. _More time with Officer Friendly_.


	4. Pilot (Pt 4)

A/N Hey y'all! Thank you and welcome to all the new followers and favorites. It means so much to me that y'all are taking time out of your days to read my story. Again, this is a little shorter than the first two chapters but more frequent, bite-sized chunks are a lot easier to fit into my schedule than mammoth chapters. Also, as much as I'd love to, it's unrealistic to include every episode of Veronica Mars in this series. Obviously the important plot points will still be a part of this story (for the most part), but Kara just can't fit in everything. If there's a particular episode that's important to you, or one that you just want to see what Kara will do, let me know and I'll try my hardest to accommodate.

Review and let me know how I'm doing - there's only going to be one or two more chapters of the pilot before we start really diving in on the show.

Thanks again! Sarah

* * *

By the time Kara got back to the apartment, Veronica was already out having sent a vague explanation about "phase two of the plan" before saying Kara didn't need to meet her since her dad was home. Mr. Mars seemed to be in a strange mood, so Kara just did her homework on the couch while he hid in his room.

Veronica came into the apartment much later than Kara anticipated, having already been asleep for about an hour. Kara woke up with a start when the door closed.

"Oh, sorry Kara. I tried to be quiet," Veronica whispered a sheepish apology.

"Don't worry about it. Did you get what you wanted?"

Veronica smiled. "Yeah, watch this." She pulled out a video camera from her bag and showed the video to Kara. Her eyes widened when she watched a deputy lead a stripper to his squad car where she proceeded to very clearly go down on him.

"That is so gross," Kara said with a grimace.

"Yup," Veronica agreed. "And exactly what we needed. Well, uh, goodnight." Veronica headed over to her room.

Kara laid back down and fell asleep again quickly.

 _Kara walked in the door with a heavy sigh, taking a moment to lean her forehead against the frame to prepare herself for the night ahead. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her arm and turned quickly._

 _"_ _Kara! I've been calling you for 20 minutes now. What the hell are you doing," Kara's mom yelled, tightening her grip on Kara's arm._

 _Shrugging in an attempt to escape her mother, she said, as calmly as she could manage, "I just got home ma. I'm tutoring some freshmen for extra credit on Thursdays, remember?"_

 _Her mom rolled her eyes at her and said, "Yeah right. Whatever. Start getting dinner ready. Your dad will be home soon and you know how he gets when the food isn't ready for him." Kara muttered under her breath, "Stepdad."_

 _"_ _What?!" Kara looked up at her mother, hardly recognizing the angry woman in front of her anymore. She used to be so different, before her dad died and she met Phil, the perpetually angry bouncer at the bar her mother had sought solace in after the death. "Nothing," Kara said quickly, knowing her mother could be just as cruel as Phil when provoked._

 _"_ _Get in there. And don't talk to me for the rest of the night." Kara teared up as she watched her mother grab a beer from the fridge and leave, not even sparing a glance at her heartbroken daughter._

 _Looking at the clock on the wall, Kara cursed to herself and started cooking. Sooner than she hoped, the front door slammed open. After some words were exchanged, followed by some incredibly gross, wet smacking noises. Kara heard her name being called, each getting louder and more forceful as the heavy footsteps trailed closer to the kitchen. Her breath was caught in her throat as the fear she had sadly been getting more and more used to grew with every step._

Kara's eyes snapped open with a start. Veronica and Keith were staring down at Kara with concern.

"Are you ok," Veronica asked softly.

Kara tried to shrug it off. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry."

"You were making a fair amount of noise. Are you sure you're alright? You can stay home if you need to," Keith said just as softly and with just as much concern.

"I'm fine, really. Just a nightmare. Nothing I can't handle."

Kara refused to meet their eyes as she sat up and gathered her things to get ready for the day. After a brief moment of silence passed, the Mars family moved about their business. Kara was grateful they let it go for now. As much as she appreciated everything they had done for her so far, it was too early in their friendship to unload all of her messed up drama on them.

Realizing how much later it actually was, Kara quickly threw on the plain blue t-shirt and jeans, pulling her hair into a messy ponytail and hoping her face didn't show how exhausted she actually felt.

"Hey V, could I ride with you today? I'm not feeling great."

Veronica smiled softly. "Sure, Kara. You ready?" Making sure she had her sweatshirt and all her books in her backpack, she nodded and followed Veronica to her car.

Halfway to school, Veronica broke the silence. "Are you really ok, Kara? I know that look you had when you woke up. I've seen it enough times."

Kara sighed. "Veronica, I'm ok. It, uh, was nothing special. Don't even remember what it was about now."

Veronica sent her a disbelieving look. "I'm here to talk when you're ready."

…

Kara couldn't tell what they talked about in her classes before lunch. She felt like she was on autopilot the whole morning, just going through the motions as her dream repeated over and over in her head.

Veronica could tell Kara still wasn't at 100% and Wallace quickly picked up that the best thing to do was act normal.

Just like the day before, halfway through lunch Veronica got her stuff together and ushered the pair back into the school.

Kara and Wallace struggled to keep up with the swift moving blonde in front of them.

"Hey, Flo Jo, slow your ass down," Wallace called out.

Kara whined, "Veronica, please. I don't have the energy for this right now." She bumped into Wallace's back as Veronica finally stopped before peering around the corner.

The trio watched as Logan snarkily opened his locker for Deputy Sachs and VP Clemmons to search, clearly not expecting them to find anything. Kara's eyes widened when she what Veronica had designed in Clemmons's hand before Logan was forcefully escorted past them down the hall. He pointed menacingly at Veronica, who is smirking with poorly contained glee, and said, "Listen, I know it was you. This isn't over, ok?"

Veronica yawned, which only seemed to set him off more. "You're so cute. Listen, I'll get you for this." He then surprisingly looked over at Kara and said, "And your little friend too."

Kara rolled her eyes and turned to Veronica and Wallace. "Who does he think he is? The Wicked Witch?"

Wallace shrugged with a smile. "You're right, that was funny."

Veronica replied, "Meet me at my car after school. Let's see if you've done your part." Wallace left the pair then and Kara and Veronica walked slowly to their next class.

"How'd your interview go," Veronica asked.

"Great! I got the job. Seems like it'll be fun," Kara responded with a smile.

"Will you be able to come to the station with us after school today?"

"Yeah," Kara said. "I don't start until Saturday. We'll figure out my schedule around school stuff then."

They stopped at the intersection of the hallways before they parted ways. "Well then I'll see you after school."

…

Veronica drove to the police station and parked across the street. Kara sat in the back since Wallace had annoyingly called shotgun as soon as they stepped outside together.

"You know," Wallace said. "We could get into a lot of trouble for this." Kara was worried about the implications, too. This seems like it could be risky for them if anyone found out what they did.

Veronica reached over to grab the controls. "Give it here." Wallace quickly moved the console out of her reach.

"Wait. I'm gonna do it. I just thought one of us should state the obvious." He pressed the controls, and the three of them anxiously awaited a reaction from the building across the street. After a moment, Wallace asked, "I wonder if it worked."

Soon the trio watched as a fire truck pulled up to the station and a few firemen ran inside. They all smiled, letting out the breaths they were all holding. "It worked," Veronica stated victoriously.

She left her parking spot and started driving towards Wallace's house to drop him off. "Alright, I'll head to the firehouse tomorrow. The trial is on Saturday. Either of you free to watch as Lamb spontaneously combusts in front of a judge?"

Kara shook her head. "Sorry, I have a shift in the morning and I don't really know how long it'll take."

Wallace also shook his head. "Same. But maybe we can meet up afterwards, on the beach or something?"

Veronica felt slightly discouraged that her friends wouldn't be able to watch their hard work pay off for themselves, but smiled at the alternative plans. "The beach sounds nice. I'll text when I'm heading over."

They dropped off Wallace and started heading back to the apartment. The car was quiet for a few minutes before Veronica broke the silence.

"Hey, about this morning. I know we've only known each other for a few days, but you're one of two friends I have period and quickly approaching best friend status. I know it's not any of my business, but this morning did not seem like generic, run-of-the-mill nightmare stuff. I should know."

Kara sighed. She had hoped Veronica would let it go, but clearly not. "Veronica, thank you. Really. It was nothing, though."

Veronica interrupted her before she could continue. "Look, I don't normally get personal but you're pretty much alone here and I more or less am too. I'm just saying if you ever need an ear to listen or a shoulder, I'm here. And I've been there too."

Kara looked over at Veronica. "What do you mean?"

"Let's just say, last year was the worst year of my life and I'm still dealing with that. What I mean is that it might be helpful, you know, for both of us to have someone to vent to that can kinda understand, or at least not judge."

Kara genuinely smiled back at her friend as she pulled into the apartment parking lot. "Yeah, ok. I'd like that."

"Good, because you've been basically living with me the past few days so you are officially stuck with me."

Kara laughed and shook her head.

…

The next two days went by in a blur. School was school, nothing remarkable happened. Veronica picked up the tape from the fire station Friday afternoon. She dropped it off at the apartment to let Kara in, before heading over to help her dad at the office for the evening.

Veronica came back in a huff a few hours later and immediately shut herself into her room for the night. Keith came home and did the same an hour or so later. As nice as their talk in the car was, Kara knew that they still had a long way to go before either of them were ready to open up to each other about their demons.

Kara tried to read until she was practically falling asleep, hoping that her exhaustion would save her from having another nightmare.

Thankfully, it worked. She slept through the night, although it was not nearly as much as sleep as she needed. Kara once again thought wistfully about her belongings in the missing moving truck as she woke up at 5 am to get ready before her shift.

She had borrowed a white t-shirt that was slightly too small from Veronica, threw on a pair of jeans, tucked them into brown faux leather boots, and tossed her hair into a pony tail before heading out.

She got to the diner with 20 minutes to spare. Carmen let her in and said, "Well, aren't you bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning?"

Kara tried to muster up a believable smile. "Just didn't want to be late on my first day." Carmen laughed at the expression on her new hire's face.

"Well, that's good. Since you're here so early, you have time for coffee and whatever breakfast you want. Still got at least half an hour before the first customers show up." Kara smiled gratefully and sat at the counter.

After breakfast, she went behind the counter to put her dishes in the tray and tie her server's apron on. The coffee hit just the right spot, so she felt more alert and ready for the morning.

Kara spent the next hour following Carmen around to learn how they took orders, where the tickets went, and how to clear the tables.

She was behind the counter when Carmen came over and said, "I have a table of regulars that should be pretty easy to deal with. Think you can handle it on your own?"

Kara smiled. "Sure!" She looked over at the table Carmen pointed out and tried to hold back her grimace when she saw Sheriff Lamb and Deputy Sachs at the booth.

She plastered on her best waitress smile and walked over with the coffee pot. "Good morning. Either of you want coffee?"

Sheriff Lamb smiled up at her. "Well, Kara. Good morning to you, too. I would love some coffee." Kara struggled to maintain her smile as he used a sickly sweet tone of voice.

She turned to Deputy Sachs who just nodded.

"Do y'all know what you want or do you need another minute?"

Sachs asked, "What's the omelet for today?"

"Southwestern. Comes with green peppers, onions, and chorizo. Salsa on the side."

Sachs closed his menu. "I'll have that."

She turned to the Sheriff, who hadn't even bothered to glance at the menu. "I'll have my usual."

Kara looked at him and asked, "If I write "Lamb's usual" will the kitchen know or am I supposed to guess?"

Lamb smirked up at her and said, "They'll know."

"Alrighty then, the food will be out shortly. Anything else I can get you for right now?"

Both of them shook their head so Kara turned to walk the ticket to the kitchen. She heard Lamb from behind her call out, "Got a long day ahead so we'll be drinking a lot of coffee. You should probably check back every few minutes or so."

Kara turned around and said, "Ok," before continuing on her way.

Carmen came up to her after she put the coffee pot down. "Do you know the Sheriff well?"

Kara shook her head. "Not at all. I met him my first day in town and seem to just run into him everywhere."

Carmen smirked and said, "Worse things to have than friends in high places." Carmen barely stifled her laugh at the grimace on Kara's face.

Kara mumbled, "If only those high placed friends didn't feel so low." Carmen let out a small chuckle and shook her head, walking away from the teenager.

Kara walked back to the table a few minutes later. "Refill?"

Lamb smirked and nodded, making no effort to move the cup that was next to his right arm on the far side of the booth. Kara huffed but leaned over to pour the coffee, careful not to spill any _as much as she wanted to._ The smirk she saw on the Sheriff's face as he watched her lean over him almost made her gag, but she definitely didn't want to lose her job on her first day. She hurried to fill Sachs' cup before scurrying away with a short, "Your food's almost ready."

Five minutes later and the food was ready to go. _Guess they did know his usual_ , Kara thought as she placed the food in front of their respective people. "Can I get y'all anything else?"

Lamb said, "Another refill." Kara nodded.

Coming back with the coffee, she asked, "So what's on your agenda that you need three cups of coffee before breakfast?"

"Testifying in a trial today. Want to make sure I'm alert," Lamb replied.

Kara didn't bother hiding her smile. She knew Veronica was going to enjoy watching Lamb once he realized what they'd done, and she was slightly disappointed she couldn't be there when the smirk fell from his face. "Oh, well. Good luck. I'm sure it'll go great." With a shrug and a bright smile at the suspicious look on the Sheriff's face, Kara walked back behind the counter trying hard to stifle her laugh.


	5. Pilot (Pt 5)

Hi friends! I'm so sorry for how long this wait has been. The past few months have been honestly a shit show for my personal life and I just needed some time to get my life back in order. Also, sorry this chapter is both shorter than all the others so far and ends kind of abruptly. I didn't really know how to get as cute an ending as the actual pilot (tried so many ways to include Veronica saying "I'm a marshmallow" but there was no way to do that without feeling forced and unnatural) so it just ended where it ended. Question for those of y'all that are still reading this - first of all thanks for spending your time reading this. I truly truly appreciate y'all's thoughts and support. Anyway, my question is about any episodes in particular that you would like me to focus on moving forward. Some episodes have more organic ways to include Kara than others and I'm working on those already. I just wanted to know if there were any moving forward that people particularly wanted to see, because otherwise I may skip some of the episodes in favor of smaller, original chapters focusing on Kara's interactions in Neptune.

Thanks again for all your support. Please review, let me know your thoughts and what episodes you'd like me to focus on. Don't know when exactly the next one will go up but it definitely will not be months like last time.

Love and appreciate y'all so much!

* * *

"Well, sweetheart? What did you think of your first morning on the job," Carmen asked the girl currently sitting with her head tucked into her arms on the counter. A groan was her only reply.

"You did good for your first day. Get something to eat then go home. Enjoy the sun."

Kara untucked her head with a smile. "Thanks, Carmen. I'll see you Monday."

After eating, Kara headed back to the apartment. The Mars family finally found their old spare key, so Kara let herself in and flopped down onto the couch. She looked at her phone to see that she hadn't heard anything from Veronica yet. It was too nice outside to wait in the apartment though so Kara quickly decided to change into more comfortable clothes and head to her favorite spot on the beach.

Throwing on a pair of black yoga capris, a loose blue t-shirt that hung off her shoulders, and grabbing a sweatshirt just in case, Kara made sure to lock the front door before she headed to the beach. She quickly found her spot again and sat down, reveling in the quiet. This week had been crazy, but considering where she was coming from, nothing Kara couldn't handle.

Despite the plan to actually do some yoga, Kara ended up sitting and thinking until her phone broke through her thoughts.

"Hello," Kara answered.

"Hey Kara, we're at the beach. Wallace has this plane thing and he's actually pretty good with it."

"Sounds good. I'll be there soon."

"Great. We're right by the lifeguard station near the north parking lot."

Kara dusted the sand off her pants, as much as she could, and headed back over to the parking lot.

Wallace spotted her first. "Hey Kara, how's it going?"

"Pretty good. How about you Veronica? Please describe Lamb's face in excruciating detail when he realized the tape was switched."

Veronica smiled wide. "It was great. He tried to stay smug of course, but I could see the intense annoyance in his eyes. Muttered under his breath and everything."

"Ugh I wish I had seen it. It was so hard keeping a straight face this morning on my shift."

Wallace asked, "You saw him this morning?"

Kara rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Apparently, he and Deputy Sachs are regulars at the diner. Lucky me."

"I am so sorry." Veronica said with widened puppy dog eyes and a little pout. She placed her hand on Kara's shoulder with mock concern which she scoffed at and pushed her away immediately. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Everyone else was lovely and I don't have to pay for my food, so it balances out I guess."

Wallace looked over towards the parking lot and quickly got Veronica's attention. "Hey Veronica, your car."

The other two looked over to see Logan draped across the hood of Veronica's car, three of his lackey's hanging around on either side.

The trio walked over slowly, trying not to provoke the quote-unquote "obligatory jackass" who slid off the hood of the car.

"Hey, Veronica Mars," Logan began. "Do you know what your little joke cost me?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure you won't be getting your bong back." Kara rolled her eyes at that. _Veronica, ever the jokester in the face of danger_.

Logan smashed Veronica's headlight with the tire iron he casually swung around in his hand. Kara flinched a step back away from the loud noise. _Deep breaths. You're still on the beach_. Wallace took a step closer to her when he noticed her distress.

"Wrong answer. Would you care to guess again?"

"Clearly your sense of humor." Kara flinched again at the crash of the other headlight and instinctively grabbed Wallace's hand as Logan walked closer to them.

"Nope. You're usually so good at pop quizzes…" Logan looked at the trio, briefly registering the fear that shown through Kara's eyes before resting back on Veronica's quietly defiant gaze. He continued, "No, the correct answer is my car. That's right. My daddy took my T-bird away. And you know what I won't be having? Fun, fun, fun."

One of Logan's henchmen called out, "Uh, um. Logan." Kara locked eyes with Weevil as soon as he parked his bike and let out a sigh of relief. Hopefully Weevil and his gang would act as a deterrent, not to mention the huge favor Veronica just did for them.

Weevil and his gang started messing around with Logan and his friend's car. Wallace joked, "I suddenly feel like I'm in a scene from _The Outsiders_."

Veronica leaned over and replied quietly, "Be cool, Sodapop." Kara couldn't help snorting at the response. As much as Veronica's cavalier attitude towards the situation rubbed Kara the wrong way, her friends' jokes definitely helped her calm down.

They silently watched as Weevil slammed the iron down on the 09er's SUV a few times before stepping away and dismissing them.

"Except for you," he turned to Logan. "You, say you're sorry."

"Rub a lamp," Logan replied with a chuckle before wheezing as the air was knocked out of him by Weevil. Kara hid her face on Wallace's shoulder. As much as Logan might deserve getting knocked off his pedestal, she could not watch him get beat in front of them. She flinched even more when she heard flesh hitting flesh again.

"Let him go," Veronica said.

Weevil looked over at the group. "Are you sure? I could do this for a while."

"I don't want his apology."

Logan stood and stumbled over to his friends without a word. They quickly drove away, the bikers taunting them on their way out.

Kara turned her head so she could see Weevil but kept it resting on Wallace's shoulder. He squeezed her hand slightly to check on her so she squeezed back and smiled.

"So that, uh, surveillance tape just went…poof?"

"That's fortunate," Veronica replied with a smirk. Weevil looked over the three of them, noticing Kara's still tense form resting against Wallace. He then turned to look at Veronica's car.

"My uncle has a body shop on the highway. If you come in, I can make sure your body gets the full service treatment." Kara snorted and relaxed even further.

Weevil and Veronica both smiled slightly.

"Now you apologize."

"I'm sorry was that too dirty cause…"

"Not to me dork," Veronica interrupted him. "To him." They both turned to look at Wallace and Kara.

"No."

"Fine, he has the only copy of the Sac-N-Pac video," Veronica said.

Kara turned her head to look up at Wallace. "Let's go decide what to do with it."

"Okay, wait wait wait. I'm sorry man, for, ya know, taping you to the flagpole. Sorry."

Wallace nodded. "Alright."

"Can I have the tape back now?"

"Nope." Kara and Veronica laughed along with him and turned to leave. Wallace and Veronica made to get into Veronica's car when Kara snorted.

"I forgot I was parked on the other side of the lot. I'll see you at home Veronica."

"After I drop Wallace off, I'm going to put in a few hours at the office. I don't think we'll be home for dinner."

"I'll figure something out. See you later."

…

Kara had found a cute café that had late night karaoke for dinner. Some were cringey, but overall a fun experience. She drove back to the apartment complex and paused when she saw the lights on in her apartment.

Kara crept forward and slowly opened the door.

"SURPRISE!"

Kara squeaked when she saw Veronica, Keith Mars, and Wallace pop out from behind furniture.

"Oh my god," was the only thing Kara could get out as she started to tear up seeing all of her things set up around her apartment.

"Sorry we didn't tell you we found your stuff. I thought a surprise would be a nice way to end you first full week in Neptune," Veronica explained.

"Thank you so much. Honestly, this is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me."

Keith said, "It was no problem, really. It's going to be weird not having you on the couch anymore though. Feel free to keep the key and come over anytime."

Kara had no more words for how touched she was so she ran over and hugged all three of them while trying to fight back her tears.

"You all are the best. Truly."


End file.
